Both open and endoscopic surgical procedures often require sutures to ligate, join or otherwise treat tissue. Generally, suture needles with attached suture strands are grasped either manually or by forceps and passed through the desired work site so a knot can be tied. While the procedures are fairly uncomplicated in open surgery where most suture sites are readily accessible, in endoscopic procedures, where access to the work site is not readily available, the surgeon must use auxiliary devices to be able to grasp the suture strands and pass them through desired tissue.
Although various instruments and techniques have been developed for surgical repairs requiring the passing of sutures to distant locations, instruments that allow a surgeon to quickly, accurately, and easily pass a suture through soft tissue are still needed.